Why Menifee residents are worried about possible split from park district

Battle lines are being drawn as Menifee and Valley-Wide Recreation & Park District prepare for a hearing this fall to determine the fate of the parks, recreation centers and special tax districts on the city's east side.

The date for a detachment hearing before the Local Agency Formation Commission, or LAFCO -- in which the city is proposing that its Community Services Department replace Valley-Wide as the parks operator east of I-215 -- has been set for Nov. 10.

At the Menifee City Council meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 17, Don Beckendorf, a boardmember of the Menifee Lakes Home Owners Association, expressed concern that the HOA would be held responsible for maintaining certain right-of-ways within its jurisdiction.

Beckendorf told the city council that if the association has to "pick ... up" 12-foot right-of-ways on Newport Road and Menifee Road, it could bankrupt them.

"We don't have the budget to to it," said Beckendorf.

Although Beckendorf said some might conclude that should the city prevail in the detachment hearing and begin to receive taxes that currently go to Valley-Wide, it would assume responsibility for the upkeep of those strips of land, but he wants something more concrete.

Beckendorf said he would need "something in writing" saying the HOA would not be held financially responsible as it crafts its upcoming budget over the next couple of months.

The landscaping in that area includes walls, trees and grass, according to Beckendorf.

City Manager Rob Johnson said that he hopes to learn more about the issue at the Parks, Recreation and Trails Commission meeting on Thursday, Aug. 18, when Valley-Wide is scheduled to give a presentation.

"Not to go too far into it but yes, that is a bone of contention," said Johnson.

Prior to the incorporation of the city in 2008, Valley-Wide and Riverside County split the responsibilities as the parks operator on the two sides of what is now the city footprint. Menifee formed its own Community Services Department last summer and replaced the county as the agency overseeing the area west of the 215.

The city has scheduled a community meeting to go over the detachment process on Sept. 27 at the Kay Ceniceros Senior Center.

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